VIDEO: FULL COMMITTEE HEARING – Senate Committee Discussed State Innovation under ESSA
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee held a hearing on state innovation under ESSA. During the hearing, Chairman Lamar Alexander commented that “Tennessee, Louisiana, and New Mexico have taken the most advantage of the flexibility” offered under ESSA, in terms of “creating innovative…
read moreEnglish Language Learners: How Your State is Doing
About 1 out of every 10 public school students in the United States right now is learning to speak English. They’re called ELLs, for “English Language Learners.”
read moreCommentary: Have We Lost of the Promise of Public Schools?
In the days leading up to and after Betsy DeVos’s confirmation as secretary of education, a hashtag spread across Twitter: #publicschoolproud. Parents and teachers tweeted photos of their kids studying, performing, eating lunch together.
read moreAverages mask regional differences in school segregation
We recently released a report on school segregation in the U.S. While we think that following national trends are helpful, and that lessons can be learned from one region to another, we also acknowledge that segregation looks different in each region, state, and metropolitan area. So, even though racial balance overall has been improving over …
read moreInnovation, Civil Rights, and DeVos Focus of Senate ESSA Hearing
State education chiefs at a Senate hearing Tuesday outlined how they are using the Every Student Succeeds Act to initiate and expand on efforts to improve college- and career-readiness and help low-performing schools. Senators, meanwhile, expressed concerns along partisan lines about the proper balance of power between Washington and the states.
read moreState Chiefs: We Won’t Walk Away From Disadvantaged Groups Under ESSA
Washington – When the Every Student Succeeds Act passed in 2015, there was widespread worry that states would walk away from making sure that particular groups of students, English-language learners, students in special education, and racial minorities, mattered in their school accountability systems.
read moreInside ESSA Plans: How Do States Want to Handle Testing Opt-Outs?
Parents who opted their children out of state exams in recent years became the focal point of major education debates in the country about the proper roles of testing, the federal government, and achievement gaps. Now, under the Every Student Succeeds Act, states have a chance to rethink how they handle testing opt-outs.
read moreCOMMENTARY: The Arts Need to Be a Central Part of Schooling – Education Week
The great education thinker John Dewey claimed that art is not the possession of a recognized few but the authentic expression of individuality for all. Among those who care about education, few would deny that the arts now struggle to survive in our nation’s schools. The visual and performing arts frequently are marginalized as fringe subjects, taking a back seat in school curricula when funds are tight or teaching time is usurped by subjects that count toward school accountability measures.
read moreThere’s Something Missing From STEM Learning – Education Week
The education field can always count on shifting priorities. Over the past 20 years, in an attempt to “fix” what many people dub a broken public school system, everyone from politicians to famous athletes to business moguls to education leaders has tried to find and repair the gaps in student achievement. But many educators are skeptical of new initiatives that come down the pike. Is a revamped approach really meant to help prepare children for the future, or is it just people outside of education sticking their noses where they don’t belong?
read moreTrump Taps Common-Core Foe Mick Zais for No. 2 Post at Ed. Dept.
President Donald Trump has tapped Mitchell “Mick” Zais, the former South Carolina chief state school officer and a vehement opponent of the Common Core State Standards, as deputy secretary, the number two position at the U.S. Department of Education.
read moreVIDEO: Dr. Elizabeth Primas Addresses Parents on ESSA at the TMCT Back to School Festival
VIDEO: Dr. Elizabeth Primas Addresses Parents on ESSA at the TMCT Back to School Festival
read moreVIDEO: National Black Parents Town Hall Meeting on Educational Excellence
The NNPA hosted the National Black Parent Town Hall during the group’s annual convention in Prince George’s County, Md.
read moreEducation Secretary DeVos Announces 2017-18 School Ambassador Fellows
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos today announced the U.S. Department of Education’s 2017 cohort of School Ambassador Fellows. This year’s cohort includes four teachers, one principal and one counselor.
read moreTrump’s Ignoring Us, Say White House Advisory Groups for Students of Color
Education Week — Three White House commissions that address education issues for black, Hispanic, and Asian American and Pacific Islander students say they haven’t met since President Donald Trump took office, and that his administration has ignored their attempts to reach out. They may not be around much longer.
read moreSBOE Announces Third #ESSA Task Force Meeting
Washington, DC – The DC State Board of Education (SBOE) will hold its third Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Task Force meeting on Tuesday, October 3, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. in Room 1114 at 441 4th Street NW. The twenty-nine members of the task force will continue the important work of devising education policy recommendations related to the District’s implementation of ESSA. More information about the work of the task force can be found at sboe.dc.gov/essa.
read moreNational News: If your teacher looks like you, you may do better in school
There’s mounting evidence that when black students have black teachers, those students are more likely to graduate high school. That new study takes this idea even further, providing insight into the way students actually think and feel about the teachers who look like them and those who don’t.
read moreESSA Toolkit for Principals
Every day, decisions are being made by policymakers at the federal, state, and district level that impact school leaders and students. With the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), school leaders like you have the opportunity to work collaboratively with state legislators to develop and influence program funding in order to provide the highest quality education for your students.
read moreFordham Institute Hosts “The ESSA Achievement Challenge”
The Fordham Institute is hosting “The ESSA Achievement Challenge” to “identify states with strong plans and distinct approaches and hear state superintendents and education advocates make the case that their work will lead to greater student success.” Attendees will vote on who they think will show the most achievement gains in coming years.
read moreFULL COMMITTEE HEARING — The Every Student Succeeds Act: Unleashing State Innovation
The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions will hold a hearing to discuss state innovation under the Every Student Succeeds Act.
read moreTexas Submits ESSA Plan
The Texas Education Agency submitted its ESSA plan to the U.S. Department of Education. Belton Independent School District Superintendent Susan Kincannon expressed her concern about some aspects of the plan. “The (ESSA) plan includes an overly complicated methodology for evaluating and rating schools and continues…”
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